


The One Time He Didn’t

by nyanbacon



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of underage drinking, b team, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 15:51:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16200707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyanbacon/pseuds/nyanbacon
Summary: For all of his life, Mikey has been told that he’s “too young” for things, from every single one of his brothers.Except for the one time he wouldn’t take it as an answer.





	The One Time He Didn’t

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of a bad story, I wrote it while watching Flip or Flop. Also just a bit of a fever dream idea.

Mikey had always had a love hate relationship with being the youngest of his siblings. On one hand, they loved him, and protected him. They kept him safe, and they tried to show their affection, although they weren’t the greatest at it. They still tried.

On the other hand… sometimes they were too protective.

When they were younger, not yet allowed to go topside, his brothers would do all sorts of things that they didn’t let Mikey do. The first few times, Mikey didn’t particularly care, but it became a repetitive behavior.

When Mikey happened to wake up early in the morning, he would often hear Leo working with his wooden practice katanas in the dojo. All of them had wooden practice weapons, and were allowed to practice with them in the dojo by themselves.

Well, all except Mikey.

Splinter said that Mikey wasn’t allowed to work by himself, because his weapons were so dangerous and difficult to master, and he didn’t want Mikey hurting himself. Mikey’s brothers took this a step further, and didn’t usually let Mikey work with them either, even if one of them was supervising.

On these particular mornings where Leo was working by himself, Mikey would go in and sit on the sidelines, watching. Leo was a natural at using his katanas, and Mikey wanted to be just as good as Leo.

He just… never got the chance to practice.

“Leo?” Mikey finally said when Leo was taking a break. Leo lowered his arms from where they’d been above his head, looking at him. “Can I train with you?”

There was a small delay, like Leo was considering saying yes, but Mikey already knew the answer.

“No, Mikey, you’re too young. You know what Master Splinter says about it,” he finally settled on.

“But-” Mikey starts, wanting to argue that Splinter never said he couldn’t practice with them, but Leo shook his head.

“I was just wrapping up anyway.” They both knew he was lying.

Mikey sighed, deflating, and dragged himself to his feet to leave the dojo, so Leo could continue training.

He didn’t care, he told himself. Later, when he was by himself, he’d train anyway, so he could keep up with his brothers. No one ever noticed anyway.

Sometimes, while Mikey was wandering around the lair looking for something to do, he’d see Raph watching TV in the pit. But when Mikey approached, Raph would pause it, or turn it off entirely.

“Why can’t I watch it with you?” Mikey asked, sitting down on the couch a few feet away and folding his legs.

Raph looked at him with narrowed eyes, because they both knew what the answer was.

“You’re too young, Mike.” He reached over and punched Mikey’s shoulder lightly. “Maybe in a few years.”

Raph would move to disappear into his room, or the dojo, but he usually looked back over his shoulder to make sure Mikey was okay with the answer. Mikey quickly caught on that he was supposed to just smile and act like it was okay. Raph would get worried if he didn’t.

It was fine, Mikey told himself. He ended up going back to figure out what Raph had been watching, and he watched it by himself. He knew there was no chance that Raph would ever let him watch it. He could suffer through the nightmares.

Usually, Mikey wouldn’t bother Donnie, but on occasion, when he was lonely, he would make his way into the room that Donnie had claimed as his lab. Donnie was always shut inside, working on something Mikey didn’t usually understand. Not at that time, anyway.

Mikey pulled himself onto a chair and leaned against the one part of the table that was still clear. Donnie wasn’t working on anything as dangerous as he was sometimes doing- just a bit of soldering.

“What’re you working on?” Mikey asked, wanting to get some conversation out of his immediate eldest brother. Donnie didn’t talk to him much. All Mikey really wanted was some conversation that wasn’t Donnie saying-

“You’re too young to understand.”

Mikey shifted how he was sitting, adjusted his position, closed himself off more. There was no point in trying to talk to Donnie any more than that. That was Donnie’s one warning to get out of his lab.

So when no one was paying attention, Mikey would find books that Donnie wasn’t using at that moment, and read them. That way, some day, Donnie would talk to him about what he was doing.

As much as Mikey hoped things would change as he grew up, they didn’t. Things he was restricted from just… changed. Especially after they started going topside.

When Mikey was up late, he would hear Leo in his room. It was different things, depending on how things went, but often, he’d hear Leo crying.

“Leo?” Mikey called, knocking on the door slightly. There was no point in trying to open the door- he knew it would be locked. “What’s wrong?”

Leo fell completely silent on the other side of the door, and Mikey shifted his weight.

“Doesn’t matter,” Leo finally said, voice raspy. Mikey bit his lip, wanting to help.

“Do you wanna talk ‘bout it?” He tried, but was met with an all too familiar answer.

“You’re too young, Mike,” Leo murmured. “You wouldn’t get it.”

He stepped away from the door and folded his arms, trying to focus more on the sting in his wrist than the pang in his chest. Feeling inferior to his brothers and never being listened to?

Mikey knew all about that.

On other nights, when Mikey was laying in the pit, he’d see Raph sneaking off to his room from the dojo, or the surface. The first few times, Mikey didn’t know why. After the fifth or sixth time he caught sight of an amber or smokey white bottle, he knew what he was doing.

“Raph,” he finally decided to pop up, scaring Raph so much he nearly dropped the bottle of alcohol. “What’re you doing with Sensei’s saki?”

Raph straightened a bit and turned to scowl at him. It took all of Mikey’s willpower to not flinch. “You’re too young to get it,” he growled. “But you better not tell anyone, or I’ll have more to say about it.”

Mikey scratched at the wraps around his wrist. Not understanding an addiction that made things better for only a few hours?

Yeah, Mikey knew more about that than Raph ever wanted to know.

Rarely, Mikey would bother Donnie. Only when Mikey was really feeling down, would he turn to Donnie. Donnie didn’t like being bothered. Ever. Mikey had learned that at a young age.

Mikey peered into Donnie’s lab late, holding onto his wrist with one hand. “Donnie?” He called, wary.

“What,” Donnie responded, immediate and biting.

He pursed his lips and slipped into the lab. “I-I wanted to talk to you about something…” He murmured, a knot forming in his stomach.

The taller sighed exasperatedly and turned to look at Mikey. “About what.”

Mikey stopped, and hesitated. “Are you busy-”

“Just a bit, yeah. But no one ever seems to care. All they worry about is their own stuff.” Donnie gestured vaguely to the direction of Leo’s room, and Mikey knew what he was talking about. With everything Leo had been asking for the team, Donnie hadn’t had a lot of time to himself. Mikey just supposed that he’d enjoyed the work.

Clearly he hadn’t.

“Sorry, Don…” He folded his arms, holding back a wince. “I guess I hadn’t realized it was stressing you out so much.”

Donnie shook his head and pushed away his work. “You wouldn’t. You’re too young.”

Something inside Mikey cracked.

“Why do you guys keep saying that?” He asked in a shrill voice.

“... what?” Donnie looked at him with a frown.

Mikey tilted his head back, taking in a shaky breath. “You guys are always… always saying I won’t _get_ things because I’m so young. But I _do_.”

“... Mike-”

Mikey shook his head, turning to leave. “It’s fine. Guess I’ll go-go think about how I can’t be good enough as you guys and not stress out _at all_ about how I can’t meet your expectations.”

He was hardly out the door before Donnie grabbed his arm. “Mikey, would you just _wait_ a second.”

Mikey jerked his arm out of Donnie’s grip but didn’t move away. He grabbed his wrist and squeezed it, grimacing.

Donnie let his gaze flicker down to the movement, and Mikey could see a horrified look flicker across his face, before he looked back at Mikey. “How long have you been…”

“It’s always been this way,” Mikey said hoarsely. “I always.. I can’t do _anything_ because I’m _too young_. I’m hardly younger than you guys, I don’t see…” He sucked in a shaky breath.

Donnie quickly snaked an arm around Mikey’s shoulders and led him back into the lab, sitting him down in a chair. “It’s because we care about you, Mikey.”

“It feels like you’re smothering me,” he murmured, watching as Donnie pulled down a first aid kit and set it on the table next to Mikey’s wrist.

“I…. can’t imagine.” Donnie focused more on the cuts than the conversation for a moment. “Mikey-”

“I’m sorry,” he blurted. Mikey wasn’t sure what he was sorry _for_ , but there was something. He knew it.

Donnie looked up at him before looking back down, rubbing his thumb along the side of Mikey’s wrist. The skin wasn’t marred, but it was still tender, and Mikey flinched. “Mikey, _this_ is why we smother you so much. We don’t want you getting hurt.”

“... kind of… backfired on you, didn’t it,” Mikey tried, a bit hoarse. Donnie looked at him ruefully and Mikey ducked his head. “Sorry.”

Donnie wrapped some breathable bandages around his wrist instead of Mikey’s previous wrappings. “Just… say something next time, okay?” He looked at Mikey, making sure Mikey met his gaze. “Being the youngest shouldn’t be so hard on you.”

Mikey swallowed and nodded, before lurching forward and clinging to him. “Thank you.”

Donnie nodded, hugging him back. “Any time, Mikey.”


End file.
